Agathia
Once regarded as both prisoner and oracle, Bane Witch Agathia is one of the more unusual weapons in Cryx’s arsenal. In life she was valued for her insight into the occult, and the tragic circumstances of her death only increased her worth to the dark lords of the Nightmare Empire. Though presently more pawn than queen, Agathiahas begun to assert her will, and she may yet find a way to choose her own fate.Forces of Warmachine: Cryx Command MK3 For decades Agathia resided in the solitary watchtower at Hell’s Hook overlooking Cryx’s barren southern coast. Her peculiar imprisonment there was a result of having betrayed her former master, Lich Lord Daeamortus, in her dogged pursuit of occult knowledge. Judging her too valuable to be slain outright, the lich lord cast her soul into the depths of the void to wander endlessly between worlds. A host of thralls attended her motionless but living form, and on those rare occasions when Cryxians came to her tower seeking advice on otherworldly matters, her consciousnessreturned briefly to speak scraps of truth veiled by riddles. After Daeamortus wasdestroyed and replaced, Agathia was forgotten and her tower abandoned. The thralls that attended her soon fell apart, and her body died not long thereafter. While searching for useful salvage, servants of Lich Lord Tenebrous found Agathia’s body in the tower’s inner chamber. Tenebrous took a personal interest in her condition. By plumbing the depths of the void he found and recovered her soul, discovering her mind was remarkably intact despite her time in that hellscape. The foremost expert in such matters, the lich lord reunited Agathia’ssoul with her unliving flesh, creating a uniquely powerful bane. She returned as ashadow of death, retaining great insights from her time in the void. Her mind had been fractured and reshaped, and now Agathia moves through the world like a sleepwalker, coming fully awake only in the midst of battle. She remains connectedto her past only by fleeting memories she finds difficult to interpret. Tenebrous regards Agathia as an invaluable tool, prizing her unusual perspectiveon the world and the way her transfigured mind interprets arcane mysteries. Hecovets the secrets buried within her memories. Bound to the lich lord’s service, Agathia serves him by plundering tombs and sacred grounds in the pursuit of lost and ancient lore, bringing him treasures to add to his vast repository. Unknown to Tenebrous, Agathia’s memories have begun to return, and she has taken a secret interest in unearthing the mysteries of her past. The lich lord’s trust has enabled her to operate with minimal oversight, a fact she has exploited to extend her missions abroad and visit sites of her own choosing. On more than one occasionshe has convinced her master to send her on expeditions more beneficial to herresearch than to his. Though Agathia remains a potent oracle, her sense of time has become fractured, and it is not always possible for the bane witch to tell whether the visions revealed to her are representative of the future or remnants of her forgotten past. Sheis plagued by visions that can send her into fits of rage or bring on feelings ofhopelessness that shatter her stoic demeanor. Agathia has been careful to conceal these outbursts from her master. Tenebrous is as yet unaware of her personal interests and growing autonomy. As slivers of her memory return, Agathia’s silent disobedience grows, and while she continues to give her master the valuable relics she obtains, she is not above examining them for herself first, seeking pieces of a key to unlock her mind. References